Wisconsin GOP seeking to recall Progressive reform

Seeking to undo one more Progressive reform, the Wisconsin Legislature, currently owned and operated by the GOP, is moving forward with plans to amend the state constitution to make state politicians subject to recall only for criminal charges or ethics violations. As for ethical and political violations in the eyes of voters, egregious violations of the public trust, those would be off-limits to any recall attempts.

“felt strongly that Gov. Scott Walker’s recall in 2012 over a single issue — collective bargaining for public workers — was a colossal overreach on the part of the state’s unions and their Democratic allies.”

I think the Board’s failure to recognize Walker’s underhanded undermining of public-sector union rights for most (but not all) state employees as a colossally recall-worthy act was a big journalistic mistake. The JS Editorial Board objects to the current recall measure because it does not allow for recalling those who are “clearly unfit for public office”–such as having a “serious substance abuse problem.” Personally, I’m more concerned about people-abuse problems along the lines of, you know, plutocracy and stuff like that, the failure of government to protect citizens, not from progressive taxes, but from polluting substances, for instance.

But I do agree with the JS Editorial Board’s views (which can be found in the same editorial) regarding the GOP plans for voter ID “reform” and redistricting unreform: stop the former and start the latter. Sometimes the JS Editorial Board can sound downright progressive.